The present invention provides a method and apparatus enabling a user to investigate his or her nightly dream activity with little or no loss in the restorative process of a good night""s sleep.
The use of dreams as an anecdotal source of inspiration and prophecy is so common as to be recognizable across cultures, both current and through the ages. Mythological references to dreams and their effects abound. More recently, dreams have been made the basis of mental health inquiries through psychoanalysis. Individuals discussing their dreams with family and friends is an experience shared by all. Many inventors, scientists and artists have reported dream activity as the basis of many of their creative accomplishments.
Many devices have been developed over the years to analyze dreams and enhance the dreamer""s memory of his or her dreams. However, the prior art has mainly focused on one notable aspect of dream activity: the so-called xe2x80x9cLucid Dreamxe2x80x9d. The lucid dream is a dream in which the dreamer is aware of dreaming while remaining in the dream state. This arcane condition is often the focus of sleep labs and research institutes. Such facilities have developed devices to sense a sleeper""s dreaming or non-dreaming state.
In general these devices sense the test subject""s dream state. When a dream state is detected some form of feedback is provided to alert the patient to fact that a dream is occurring. If all works out well, a lucid dream will ensue. Prior art devices all require some form of physical device that attaches to the patient. Wearing such an attachment is not a normal part of the patients sleep habits and can interfere with the test subject""s usual night""s sleeping process and may itself become the focus of the subject""s dream activity.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,716 to LaBerge et al. discloses a mask, similar to sunglasses or goggles, which is additionally wired for sound. Such an item may be suitable for investigating sleep patterns in a lab context, but it is not likely to find widespread nightly usage among the general populous. Additionally, the Laberge et al. devices are expensive, further limiting their appeal to individuals who may desire to investigate their dreams on their own.
Many experiments have been performed to awaken test subjects during the so-called REM (Rapid Eye Movement) periods of sleep. It has been determined that these periods usually correspond with dream activity. When a test subject is awakened during a REM event, the subject is usually able to remember the dream which was occurring at the time he or she was awakened. If the test subject is not awakened, the dream is more likely to be forgotten during intervening periods of deeper, dreamless sleep. Thus, for those individuals who are interested in investigating the subjects of their dreams it is desirable that they occasionally be woken up either during or shortly after a REM event.
With most subjects, the first REM event usually occurs about sixty minutes after the subject falls asleep. Thereafter, periods of deep sleep with little dream activity are punctuated by periods of heightened dream activity during REM events which occur approximately every 90 minutes. Three to five dreams may be associated with each REM event. These cycles are usually consistent for a given individual but vary widely from one person to another. In a substantial percentage of the population the rhythms are so strong and consistent that many people have no need for an alarm clock. Their own xe2x80x9cinternal clocksxe2x80x9d are so accurate that they wake up at the same time each morning on their own. This indicates that for many individuals it is not necessary to provide sensors and or physical hookups to the individual to determine when REM events are taking place since the REM events will take place at substantially the same time each night.
For those persons having a sufficiently regular sleeping rhythm, a remote device could be programmed to wake the individual at the appropriate times at the end of or just after the conclusion of REM events. Such a device could be configured to wake the dreaming individual by issuing a xe2x80x9cdream alertxe2x80x9d in the form of flashing lights, sounding an alarm, playing music, and so forth. Such a device would ideally allow for variable time settings in order to individually synchronize the occurrence of dream alerts with individual""s nightly rhythms. Dream alerts could be set to occur, for example, at the end of the individual""s REM events or shortly thereafter.
Such synchronization could be effected through repeated use and fine tuning of the dream alert settings. Reliable timing will proceed from the daily stored and updated values of the alert variables. By fine tuning the synchronization between the dream alerts and the occurrence of REM events, the dream alerts may be provided by a remote device with no physical connections to the user. The user would then experience a more natural sleep environment while still benefiting from being awakened during or shortly after REM events so that dreams are more fully remembered. An additional desirable feature of such a device would be to include a dictation system so that the user could record the subject matter of his or her dreams before returning to sleep. Further, the user""s normal sleep patterns such as the time the individual normally goes to bed and gets up should be storable so that the user need not go through a tedious set up procedure each night before retiring. The nature of the dream alerts should also be selectable to allow for a wide range of wake up options. For example, device settings should allow for minimal intrusion during the REM cycle. This will help to prevent waking the user during NON-REM periods, as well allowing the user to complete dreams before the dream alert awakens the user.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for facilitating the investigation of the subject matter of dreams. The apparatus of present invention relies on the pregrogrammed time settings which are calculated to correspond to the occurrence of REM events that occur throughout the night while the user is sleeping. It is during such REM events that most dream activity occurs. Because the apparatus calculates when REM events are expected to occur rather than sensing REM events directly, the apparatus may be completely remote from the user. Thus, no attachments are required which may otherwise interfere with the user""s sleep. The apparatus wakes the user during the calculated REM events by flashing LEDs, or other means. When the user is awakened, a voice activated dictation system may be employed so that the user may orally record the details of the dreams that where happening when the he or she was awakened.
The apparatus includes a pair of mircro controllers. A first micro controller receives input in the form of various pushbutton switches, and also drives the output which drive LEDs or other alarms used to wake the user. The second micro controller is used to drive an LCD screen with prompts the user to enter various data necessary to program the apparatus and set up the various alarms that will wake the user during the course of the night. The LCD also acts to display previously selected settings.
In an embodiment of the invention, dream alerts comprise a plurality of flashing LEDs. The LEDs may be a combinationi blue red and green LEDs so that the over all color of the flashing lights may be selectable. Furthermore, the intensity, the length of the pulses and length of time between the pulses may also be selectable and the intensity of the pulses may be subjected to a ramping function. The first micro controller is programmed to receive a start time corresponding to a time when the user goes to sleep and an end time corresponding to a time when the user expects to rise. From these times the micro controller calculatest the times at which the user is likely to be experiencing REM events, based on 4, 5 and 6 REM event cycles. The user may then select whether he or she wishes to receiv dream alerts at the various times calculated by the micro controller. The dream alerts are temporally related to the occurrence of the REM events in that they are scheduled to occur at a time during the actual occurrence of the REM events.
Accordingly, besides the objects and advantages for the dream analyzer described above, several further objects and advantages are, as noted:
(a) to provide an alert interface with the following adjustable values: the number of total pulses, the intensity of the pulses, the length of pulse time on, the length of time between pulses, the color of the pulse, and a controllable oscillation of the pulse intensity.
(b) to provide the previously entered alert values as the default values for the night""s alerts. The user thus gravitates to values which are consistent and reliable over time.
(c) to provide a programmable alert interface. Unlike all previous prior art, an interface allows the user to interactively select not one but three sets of alert notification. Three separate sets of alert values are provided to allow for three different sets of alerts for the beginning, middle and final night""s dreams. This allows for the maximum use of the device if a user intends more than one alert per night activity.
(d) to provide oral notation recording. As the individual must not move during an awakening or a dream will be lost, a voice chip recorder will be activated for a short period to allow a dreamer to voice his or her dream description. This may be reviewed with manual operation on the morning""s arising.